In the Netherlands everyone bicycles: Adults, children, teenagers, the elderly, students, and professionals. It is also quite common for local children to learn to ride at a very early age (3-4 years old) with their parents or grandparents.

Did you know that…around 85% of the population has at least one bicycle?

Cycling is popular because there is a continuous network of cycle paths that are maintained, which makes cycling a convenient and easy way to get around town.

The Netherlands has over 29,000km of bike paths!!

The government also encourages cycling. The Ministry of Transport, Public Work and Water Management is stimulating cycling because research has shown that employees who cycle to work are healthier than those who do not. But before joining the Dutch on the flat bike paths there are some practical things that you should know.

Understand and choose the types of bicycle (Oma Fiets, City bike, elektrische fiets, bakfiets…), learn about the bicycle road traffic and laws, how to carry children and/or pets on bikes, carry your bikes in public transports (trains, metros…), bikes-locks and thefts, …

You may find useful information about these topics in our ACCESS guide 'Your First three Months in the Netherlands'.